Inspired Youth, a northside tutoring/mentoring program, was recognized Wednesday, January 27, by Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth for its work on behalf of children in the Edgewater and Uptown neighborhoods. Inspired Youth offers students in kindergarten through 12th grade a mix of academic tutoring and mentoring in arithmetic, reading and writing at the Bezazian Library and Margate Park.

Inspired Youth was honored with the Much Shelist Founders Award, a $7,000 award donated by the law firm Much Shelist Denenberg Ament & Rubenstein, P.C. Since 2005, the award has been presented to a promising tutoring/mentoring program that has been in existence for five years or fewer. Morrie Much, one of the firm's founding partners, presented the award at Inspired Youth's Wednesday afternoon tutoring session.

The honorees are chosen by a Much Shelist selection committee from a group of high quality tutoring and mentoring programs recommended by Lend-A-Hand. However, the law firm's commitment extends beyond funding. Much Shelist partners volunteer with various programs as tutor/mentors or board members.

In making the presentation of the check, Much praised Inspired Youth's director Beth Struck Palmer saying, "With no organization and very little money, what she has done is organize about 140 tutors and mentors to provide services for more than 100 children. That's about 4,000 tutoring hours a week not including the choir and piano lessons provided here."

Much said that Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth took him and his partners to see several other tutoring/mentoring programs throughout the city, but they were attracted to Inspired Youth's community feel. He attributed that spirit to the parents, children and volunteers.

For additional coverage of this event, please see the Lake Effect News.